Business Development Forum moderator Rachel Kennedy, BD Director at Kinstellar, was joined by Clare Quinn Waters, Chief Growth Officer at Edwin Coe LLP, to explore AI adoption through a business development, growth and client relationship lens. Quinn Waters approaches AI not as a technologist or innovation lawyer, but through her focus on helping people perform at their best. This perspective shaped the discussion around confidence, culture and practical adoption, as well as the importance of preserving the human expertise and judgement that technology cannot replace.
Overview
The legal sector has moved from debating whether to use AI to working out how to embed it into everyday practice. Quinn Waters described firms as sitting between experimentation and implementation, with professional confidence often a greater barrier than technical capability. Associates may be comfortable with technology but remain cautious where accuracy, ethics, confidentiality and professional credibility are at stake.
Effective adoption, therefore, requires investment in people as well as in technology. Formal governance and training should be combined with peer learning, AI champions and practical examples that show how AI can remove everyday friction. Crucially, firms should treat AI as an ongoing capability rather than a project, embedding it into normal working habits.
Client expectations are changing too. Clients increasingly expect firms to use AI for efficiency, while still valuing lawyers for commercial insight, judgement and expertise. As clients also adopt generative AI themselves, firms must articulate the value of human legal advice more clearly. Critical thinking, commercial awareness, communication and relationship building will become even more important differentiators.
Key Takeaways
- AI adoption is a people and culture challenge. Access to technology does not automatically translate into changed behaviour.
- Digital confidence is not the same as professional confidence. Associates need clarity about where AI strengthens their expertise and where human judgement remains essential.
- Combine governance with peer learning. Formal policies create safe boundaries; practical examples, AI champions and shared learning build confidence and habits.
- Start with everyday friction. Small, relevant applications can demonstrate value more effectively than abstract discussions about AI’s future.
- Exercise judgement about when not to use AI. Recording and note-taking tools can create efficiency, but confidentiality, privacy and psychological safety may make human-to-human conversations more appropriate.
- Human capabilities become more valuable, not less. As AI takes on elements of delivery, commercial judgement, relationships, communication and critical thinking will increasingly distinguish successful lawyers and firms.
